My Shard Bearer System - Elias's Legacy
Chapter 54: Fitted Exo

Chapter 54: Fitted Exo

As they ascended high into the sky, Elias looked down at the ground, taking in the sight with awe. For a moment, he was struck by how beautiful everything looked from so high up.

"Never thought I’d be getting a view like this a few weeks ago," he stated with a slight smirk.

Elias continued and stated, "Turning to a more serious tone, I guess—how have you been holding up with your shard and everything that goes with that?"

As they turned and jetted away from the sandy dunes, fresh greenery took shape around them. She responded, "Not too many problems as of yet; I’ve finished a few ’quests’ already, if that means much."

"I’m not sure how I feel, really—over a shard having so much control over my body to the extent that it makes me see things others cannot."

"Y-you’ve finished quests?" Elias asked, his voice catching slightly. "Like... with a plural ’s’?"

Elara just stated, "Uh, yeah. A few were simple, like 300 pushups, and others were a bit more tricky, like synchronizing attacks with my Ikona. But the general concept hasn’t been too hard. I have a 500 soul energy reserve right now, but I’m not sure what that means yet, as everything is scrubbed out for the most part.

"I do have an option to ’upgrade’ Cube’s ice abilities, but I’m holding off until I can talk to the Doctor again."

Elias took in all the information and stated, "I see... I guess I’m pretty far behind. But I’ll catch up in due time—you can count on that!"

Elara chuckled and stated, "You sure had that attitude a lot when we first signed up... I don’t want to see that fade away again."

As she finished talking, they began a sharp descent, landing in an open airway where three others sat around chatting, clad in full suits similar to the one Elias had seen Elara wearing. However, each suit had a slight color variation—green, pink, and white—with lines traveling down the sides.

For a moment, a pit formed in his stomach as he instantly recognized the man with green hair.

As Elara and Elias hopped out, Elias locked eyes with Yui, a flicker of annoyance instantly painting across his face.

Yui’s voice punctuated the air as he stated, "Commander... why did you bring this nobody on this mission?"

Elara simply replied, "His Ikona will help us locate the two shard users. Hopefully, you don’t see an issue with that, Lieutenant?"

"We have a detection radar; we can easily track them down on our own. Bringing a shard user puts more risk to the mission," Yui shot back. "Not to mention this one isn’t even good at fighting. I had him on his ass a few dozen times."

"Oh? If I recall correctly, someone had to take some time off to get some ointment for a nearly fractured wrist?" Elara quipped back.

The pink-haired lady chimed in and stated, "Come on, Yui, you’re being a bit rough on the guy. If Elara is saying he can be helpful, I say we trust her."

Elias spoke up and stated, "I can handle my own, and anything I can do to help, I will. Don’t forget, there are much larger issues around than me or other people with shards. We are tools, right? Then just see me as a tool to find the other shard users."

Yui rolled his eyes and stated, "Whatever. Let’s go ahead and get this over with. This whole ordeal is going to cost us being ready for when the aliens do return at this rate."

Elara rubbed the back of her head and stated, "Has he always been this high-strung, Kimi?"

Kimi responded, "A bit. He’s always had a competitive edge, but maybe he feels like he has to work harder to stay ahead, perhaps?

"What do you think, Yusuke?" she asked, looking at the man with the white stripe running down his side.

With his arms crossed over his chest and his tanned skin catching the dim light, he simply stated, "Whatever serves the mission to its likely success is fine by me. I have no qualms about how it is completed." He then walked off in the same direction as Yui.

Elias noticed they were heading toward a larger ship—pure steel with white hexagonal armor plating, covered in black dot patterns.

Kimi shrugged. "Guys, am I right?" she said with a smirk toward Elias and Elara before turning around, placing her hands over her pink hair, and whistling lightly as she walked toward the ship.

Elias chimed in, "So, how long has this been ’your’ team?" he asked with emphasis.

Elara sighed. "A few months after the alien attack. We formed to be a counter-attack squad. We were barely prepared for the second attack and still had heavy losses... but another time, I suppose."

As they boarded the craft and took off, Elias caught the subtle scent of rose petals lingering in the air. Looking out his window, he watched the land strip fade below them.

After some time in the air, they landed atop a tall building, rain pouring heavily as small bursts of light flickered around the structure.

Elara turned to Elias and stated, "Come with me real quick."

Yui sighed. "Wasting time on a pit stop..."

Elias made no comment as he departed the craft with Elara. They walked across the wet cinder-block rooftop toward a steel door, where she swiped her security card next to the access panel. The door unlocked with a soft click, and they stepped inside.

They descended a few flights of stairs before reaching an armory section.

Elara turned to Elias and stated, "It probably won’t be needed, but you still don’t have much experience with the Mark I Exo Suits. If things somehow get dicey, the older module exosuits will better suit you in a high-stress situation."

She pulled a full-frame suit from a storage rack and stated, "This should fit you perfectly. Go ahead and get changed into it."